Jesusfreakhideout.com: 20 'til JFH 20 - Remembering The JFH 14th Anniversary Party feat. House of Heroes

Day 14: Remembering The JFH 14th Anniversary Party feat. House of Heroes

It's been 20 years, but with JFH being an admittedly relatively small, independent operation, we haven't really been able to do a lot of big events or celebrations. The showcases and parties we did have over the years have all been collaborative efforts that have kept things affordable. The biggest thing we've ever done for a site anniversary was for our 14th year, when we were vendors at Purple Door 2010 and worked with the festival and House of Heroes to make a special "after party" event possible. On the first night of Purple Door Fest that year, at Ski Roundtop in Lewisberry, PA, 100 guests gathered in what was usually the festival green room for a special acoustic performance from House of Heroes. It's definitely one of my favorite memories for JFH throughout its two decades. (Oh, little side trivia... the one HOH member who didn't perform at the show was actually their then-drummer, Josh Dun... who is now known for being one-half of the super popular act, Twenty One Pilots! Here's a shot of Josh in action the following day during HOH's regular Purple Door set.)

Below is my original 2010 write-up of the event, photo gallery and the video we captured there. Check it out -- if you weren't there, we certainly wish you could have been! :)

-- John DiBiase, JFH Founder / Editor / Etc

August 13th, while the first night of Purple Door, was as also the fourteenth anniversary of when I started Jesus Freak Hideout, so we organized a special after party in the upstairs restaurant of the Ski Roundtop lodge for one hundred friends and fans. Gotee Records rock foursome House Of Heroes agreed to come to Purple Door a day early to perform a special acoustic set for those in attendance and it became the highlight of the day.

Sometime around 11:30, three of the four House Of Heroes boys sat perched on tall chairs, with their acoustic guitars and bass, to perform a mix of HOH originals and covers. The atmosphere was light and relaxed, which added to the intimacy of the performance. The guys opened with "If" from their previous record, The End Is Not The End (and despite soundchecking it at least twice that night, vocalist Tim Skipper still managed to forget a few words, which was received with forgiving laughs from the audience), and then moved into "Serial Sleepers" from their self-titled Gotee release. Tim briefly talked about their brand new record, Suburba and then played a trio of songs from it, starting with "Love Is For The Middle Class," and continuing with "God Save The Foolish Kings" and the lovely ballad "So Far Away." With the mood being so light, there was plenty of joking going on, and the occasional chatter with members of the audience. The aptly chosen "Friday Night" was next, and then their cover of The Beatles' "Can't Buy Me Love." For the beautiful and emotional "Ghost," which appeared on the store release of The End Is Not The End, bassist Eric Newcomer sat out (and literally joined the audience) for Tim and guitarist Jared Rigsby to perform the song as just a pair. Tim teased us about JFH being a teenager now, asking if I'd allow "her" to date. The silliness escalated a bit, making an awkward segue into such a serious song as "Ghost," but it helped add to the laid back and fun mood of the evening.

After "Ghost," Tim announced the next song as having been originally intended for Suburba when it was supposed to be more of a concept record, but was ultimately cut, and the previously never played before song, "The Cop," was next. They then returned to their love for The Beatles with a cover of "I'm Only Sleeping," before Eric rejoined them for the self-proclaimed worship song, "Field Of Daggers" from The End Is Not The End. For the next song, Eric traded his bass for Tim's guitar as they performed a cover from the movie She's The One, as Tim sang the lyrics from a sheet he'd written them on. It was well after midnight when they announced the next song as their last, but then spontaneously decided to add in "Elevator" from Suburba before closing the night with "By Your Side." When the guys finished, we gave away some JFH shirts and copies of Suburba (along with a copy of it on vinyl) and mingled a bit before cleaning up.... -- John DiBiase (August 18, 2010)